Cool Blew Blog

What You Need to Know about Garbage Disposals

If you’re like most homeowners, you use your garbage disposal every day. Yet, you probably don’t think too much about this kitchen workhorse until it breaks. On today’s blog post, as your Phoenix plumber, we wanted to share with you a little background information about this essential piece of machinery and how you can keep it running as long as possible.

Did You Know?The garbage disposal was invented in 1927 by Johm Hammes, the founder of Insinkerator. Although garbage disposals have become more powerful and efficient over the past nine decades, the original design hasn’t changed all that much.

How It WorksGarbage disposals are mounted to the underside of sinks and store food waste in what’s called a “hopper chamber.” When it is turned on, the motor spins a flywheel and impellers at nearly 2,000 RPM. The impellers throw the food waste against the shredder ring and they grind and pulverize it until it can be discharged down the sewer system or into a septic system.

What to Look for When Buying a Garbage DisposalWith garbage disposals, power matters! You will want to get at least a ½ HP unit. A ¾ HP disposal provides even better results – particularly for septic systems. You will also want to make sure that any model you’re considering has overload protection that will switch off the motor if it starts to overheat. An auto-reverse feature is handy, too to prevent jamming.

Repairing a Clogged Garbage DisposalClogs are typically caused by an inability to grind food waste or a lack of water in the unit once it has been ground up. Some of the most common food items that cause garbage disposal clogs are:

Egg shells

Coffee grounds

Potato peels

Banana peels

The simplest way to avoid a clog is to always ensure you’re using plenty of water when grinding food waste. Many times, a clog can be easily repaired by disconnecting the drain trap and removing the trap from the discharge drain of the disposal. If a clog isn’t in the trap, then it lies in the line into the wall or beyond the vertical pipe into the wall. If you are in need of garbage disposal repair or replacement, call Cool Blew at (623) 872-2900 today. As your plumber in Phoenix with the experience to get the job done right, there is no better choice than Cool Blew!